


Love Thy Enemy

by janeaustenfangirl



Series: October Writing Challenge 2020 [1]
Category: Dracula & Related Fandoms, Dracula - Bram Stoker
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:00:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26761003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janeaustenfangirl/pseuds/janeaustenfangirl
Summary: "Love your enemies, for they tell you your faults," ~ Benjamin Franklin
Relationships: Count Dracula/Abraham Van Helsing
Series: October Writing Challenge 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949926
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	Love Thy Enemy

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt 1: Love Thy Enemy   
> This work takes place September, 30th, the day after Lucy was staked. The setting is Kingstead Cemetery (aka Highgate Cemetery).

His leather boots fell softly on the dew-damped grass. Mud splattered on the toes as he walked. 

He watched his feet move intently. It felt almost like they were moving of their own volition, and, even if he should try with all his might, he wouldn't be able to get them to stop. 

He noted with perhaps some melancholy (or maybe it was humor) that the grass was greener than it had been the night before, when -- well. Best not to think of all the gory details, hm? Lucy was at rest. That was all that mattered.

Lucy was at rest, and he knew who had turned her into that...foul thing. He couldn’t bear to call it ‘Lucy’, for it had no resemblance to her living self. All her innocence, her sweetness, lost forever. (Not forever. She lived on in their memories.)

Nosferatu was a more apt name. Vampire.

The words bounced around his head, wrung against his ears like the gong of an old bell, brassy and broken. Over, and over, ad infinitum. He had thought the words so many times they had completely lost their meaning.

He wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Ten years prior, hell, even five years, and he would have. But he knew better than that. Knew all too well.

He came to a stop in front of Lucy’s crypt. Apparently his feet did still obey him. 

_WESTENRA_ was displayed high, in cold stone letters, looming over him like some dreadful admonition. The building seemed, somehow, taller than he had remembered. Moonlight streamed in through the canopy above, fell on wilting flowers and moss covered stone.

He wanted to cry, but he didn’t have the energy.

So he just stared. He stared at the moss covered stone, and the wilting flowers, and the moonlight filtering in through the canopy above.

The moonlight seemed to dance, he thought. It looked like...like little particles of dust, sparkling, floating around in them, on them...just like in Mr Harker’s diary, with the vampire women, and...oh.

_Oh shit_.

He wanted to run, run, _run_ , but he couldn’t -- couldn’t move his feet, or his legs. Couldn’t move anything, _anything_ at all. He tried to pull against whatever preternatural force was keeping him rooted to the spot, but it was all in vain; his feet were back to not _fucking listening_. 

And then he could move again, his feet were his to command again, but it was too late -- the particles -- the moonbeams -- had solidified into the shape of a man. Tall, withe sharp features, a mess of dark hair, clad entirely in black, and…

What word was he looking for...?

He swallowed. His heart pounded in his ears.

“Count Dracula, I presume?” he asked, surprised at the solidity of his voice. Only after he spoke did he think of the potential embarrassment should he be wrong -- but The Man certainly fit the description. Dark eyes, aquiline nose, red lips. Bleeding lips. Or maybe just bloodied.

His stomach churned.

“Indeed,” The Man replied, in a deep bass which was…

What word was he looking for...?

He fingered the rosary in his pocket. It calmed his nerves, he told himself, but he wasn't sure if that was true or not.

“And you’re Professor Abraham Van Helsing, yes?”

“Yes,” he replied. He drew a deep breath, hoping to calm that wild heart of his. After a moment, “how do you know me?”

“You killed one of my fledglings. Of _course_ I know you.” Anger added a sharp edge to the Count’s voice. Dangerous edge. He wondered, vaguely, if Count Dracula had actually cared about Lucy. He wondered if the Count could care at all.

He didn’t wonder why he cared.

“If I recall,” he said, taking an adventurous step forward, showing more courage than he truly possessed, “you were the one who killed her. After all, one must die to become undead, correct?”

Count Dracula fixed him with a piercing stare. Stepped forward. Once. Twice. Until he was close enough to reach out his pale hand, and use his finger to tip back Van Helsing’s head by the chin.

“I did not kill her. I merely released her from the confines of life, Professor. Your limited views on Life and Death do not hold merit, here.”

“Well...then I suppose I merely released her from the confines of death.” He looked defiantly into Count Dracula’s eyes. They glowed almost purple.

The Count laughed -- actually laughed -- and that surprised Van Helsing more than anything else could have. Or, more accurately, it surprised him how much he enjoyed that laugh. Rich. Sultry.

The Count leaned his face down, closer to Van Helsing’s.

“Professor Van Helsing…” the Count said, barely above a whisper. “You are either the bravest man I’ve ever met, or the stupidest.”

He stared at those lips. Those ruby red lips. Bleeding. Bloodied.

Those lips met his, and the taste of blood, cold and metallic, filled his mouth.

Only one phrase crossed his mind.

Love Thy Enemy.

He thought that, likely, it didn’t refer to _this_.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!   
> First off, thanks for reading this far!   
> Second off, if you're wondering what this is, I started an October writing challenge thing. Like inktober, except I'm writing, and also it's all going to be Fanfic for this pairing. I posted the prompts I'll be using on Tumblr, and also I'll be putting them in the beginning notes of each of my fics.   
> I decided to do this because I was just,,,,,Very Saddened at the lack of content for this pairing, so I decided to make it on my own. If you like them -- and I'm assuming you do, or why else would you be here, then I guess you're in luck! If not, then...sorry. Maybe filter out this pairing? I will be posting 31 fics for them, but I'm not certain if all of them will come out on that specific day or not. Even right now, while it is still Oct 1st, it's kinda late where I'm at. But I shall do my best.   
> (oh, and if anyone is wondering, yes I'm still working on Castles in the Air. Never fear)


End file.
